Designlab
Average Rating4.78
789 Reviews
9 Courses
Designlab is an online training provider that teaches in-demand UX/UI design skills through their UX Academy and short courses. Designlab’s top-tier online programs connect students with expert design mentors, empowering them to launch and advance their career in digital design. Whether students are transitioning into UX design with Designlab’s flagship UX Academy or refining their skills through advanced courses designed for seasoned designers and design teams, Designlab offers meticulously crafted programs to help learners achieve their goals.
With mentorship and community at the core of every course, students benefit from weekly 1:1 video calls in UX Academy and UX Academy Foundations, as well as small peer group sessions in advanced and short courses. Through personalized feedback and guidance, Designlab’s network of experienced mentors helps students navigate the design industry, offering career advice and insights into market trends from a professional’s perspective.
To apply for the UX Academy, applicants need to fill out an online application, and schedule a call with a Designlab representative. Applicants should have a love of good design, a grounding in design fundamentals, and commitment and resilience.
789 Designlab Reviews
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Ilya KalininStudent • 1. UX Academy Foundations • OnlineMar 08, 2023Overall ExperienceInstructorsCurriculumJob AssistanceN/AExcellent course!!!
The course is easy to follow and understand. The lessons are straightforward. This course also provides optional lessons for those who need them. The assignments are challenging in the right way. Also, the mentors give honest and helpful feedback. Overall the experience is great and there is a lot to learn. :)- Vanessa PetersonGraduate • 1. UX Academy Foundations • OnlineMar 08, 2023Overall ExperienceInstructorsCurriculumJob AssistanceN/A
Learn all of the basics in a self-paced, fun format
The course material is important to review and learn to understand the basics, but in my opinion, your mentor will make or break your experience. Having a knowledgeable, empathetic mentor will be the key to your learning and advancing your skills. They will be the ones to teach you all the nuances and look at things in a different way. Their years of experience will flow to you in little tips and tricks from what they've learned. If you come prepared for your mentor sess...The course material is important to review and learn to understand the basics, but in my opinion, your mentor will make or break your experience. Having a knowledgeable, empathetic mentor will be the key to your learning and advancing your skills. They will be the ones to teach you all the nuances and look at things in a different way. Their years of experience will flow to you in little tips and tricks from what they've learned. If you come prepared for your mentor sessions and are open to feedback, you will do great!
You only have to attend one "design crit" during Foundations, but from what I've heard these sessions will eventually be the backbone of UX Academy.
I highly recommend taking notes on each Unit in a separate doc, as well as notes from your mentor call so you can review and refer to them to consolidate the information. I used Notion to organize all my notes for each Unit.
I think this course is also a great way to test the water, and see if you actually like UX/UI before jumping into the longer, more expensive UX Academy. This course will get you very familiar with a design tool of your choice (for me, I chose Figma). Keep in mind though, that UX Academy will be more focused on UX research (from what I've heard).
Pros:- self-paced
- fully online
- easy-to-follow video tutorials for learning Figma
- a dedicated mentor you meet with 1:1 8 times during the course
- supportive community on discord that you can interact with other students (get help, get feedback, ask questions)
- an aesthetic, easy-to-use platform for keeping track of your course progress
- lots of extra resources and links sprinkled throughout the course material for extra learning
- they provide a nice 1-2 page "cheat sheet" at the end of each unit
- they constantly ask for feedback and ways to improve at the end of each unit
Cons:- Honestly not many serious cons for me
- If you're looking for a course that is only videos, this is not for you. There will be reading and hands-on projects involved, with some videos thrown in for tutorials on Figma
- If you're in a time crunch to finish this course and move on to UX Academy (like I was), you'll need to finish this course in under 4 weeks to be able to apply to the next month's Academy cohort - if you don't, you'll have to wait a whole month to apply to the next one. So, you may feel rushed to finish before the UX Academy cohort deadline.
(FYI I finished in March 2023, but I was only able to select up to 2022 for this review)
- DesmonayShurn • Graduate • 1. UX Academy Foundations • OnlineMar 07, 2023Overall ExperienceInstructorsCurriculumJob AssistanceN/A
So glad I took the leap!
Designlab was a great experience for me. The mentor that I was paired with was extremely helpful and did everything she could to make sure that I understood the assignments and completed the projects to the best of my ability. The curriculum was pretty impressive. I felt like it covered a wide range of information but it didn't feel overwhelming at all. Although I've only just completed the Foundations course, I plan to continue straight into the Academy. If you're looking to make a care...Designlab was a great experience for me. The mentor that I was paired with was extremely helpful and did everything she could to make sure that I understood the assignments and completed the projects to the best of my ability. The curriculum was pretty impressive. I felt like it covered a wide range of information but it didn't feel overwhelming at all. Although I've only just completed the Foundations course, I plan to continue straight into the Academy. If you're looking to make a career switch or simply add new skills to your resume, I 100% recommend Designlab. You won't regret it! - Ryan EmmansGraduate • 1. UX Academy Foundations • OnlineMar 07, 2023Overall ExperienceInstructorsCurriculumJob AssistanceN/A
Great intro to UI design and preparation for UX Academy
If you continue on to UX Academy, this course is basically free! The curriculum is very thorough, well planned, and seamlessly structured. The student portal makes it super easy to keep track of all assignments and timelines. My mentor was great and really knew when to challenge me and provided tons of professional insight to my endless questions. We had calls twice a week, and this held me accountable while also keeping my workload realistic. Communicating with the admissions staff was ...If you continue on to UX Academy, this course is basically free! The curriculum is very thorough, well planned, and seamlessly structured. The student portal makes it super easy to keep track of all assignments and timelines. My mentor was great and really knew when to challenge me and provided tons of professional insight to my endless questions. We had calls twice a week, and this held me accountable while also keeping my workload realistic. Communicating with the admissions staff was a very pleasant experience. The Discord community is also invaluable and a great way to connect with your cohort! The only thing I would be mindful of is that the time estimates for each unit are on the low end. You will get out of this course what you put into it, so be prepared to give yourself a lot more time than is projected for each assignment if you really want to get a firm grasp on the lessons and design tools. - Laura MuellerTeacher • Student • 1. UX Academy Foundations • OnlineMar 05, 2023Overall ExperienceInstructorsCurriculumJob AssistanceN/A
DesignLab foundations
The foundations course through DesignLab was a great introduction to visual and UI design. The coursework was easy to follow and navigate. The project time estimates were accurate. I really appreciated working with my mentor. She was amazing! - Jessica BianucciGraduate • 1. UX Academy Foundations • OnlineMar 03, 2023Overall ExperienceInstructorsCurriculumJob AssistanceN/A
Great Intro Program
I had a wonderful experience with Designlab's Foundations course. I was able to get the basics of Figma down and feel quite comfortable with the design side of the program now. I learned the basics of design thinking and the UI process. I have taken a course before at my local city college and Designlab's was much easier to follow. I felt I gained exactly what I was looking for. I am looking forward to hopefully continuing on with their Academy. - Mady ScoppJr. UX Designer • Graduate • 3. UX Academy (Full-time) • OnlineMar 01, 2023Overall ExperienceInstructorsCurriculumJob Assistance
Amazing experience that enabled me to make a career change
I had a bachelor's degree in psychology but was unsure of what direction I wanted to go with my career. As I researched more and more about UX design, I thought it could be what I was looking for all along; it combined my love of design and problem solving, and would also enable me to apply my psychology background. While researching the different UX bootcamps, UX Academy stood out to me the most. The option to do it full or part-time, the mentorship program, group critiques, rigorous co...I had a bachelor's degree in psychology but was unsure of what direction I wanted to go with my career. As I researched more and more about UX design, I thought it could be what I was looking for all along; it combined my love of design and problem solving, and would also enable me to apply my psychology background. While researching the different UX bootcamps, UX Academy stood out to me the most. The option to do it full or part-time, the mentorship program, group critiques, rigorous course content and projects, and that it was so much more affordable than other bootcamps and grad programs, are a few reasons why I chose UX Academy. I truly enjoyed the bootcamp, but know that you only get out of it what you put into it. My mentor (Emily) and career coach (Anthony) were both great and provided amazing support through their wealth of knowledge and experience! The support team was also incredibly helpful and responsive. If you aren't happy with something, reach out and they will provide the assistance you need. It's crazy to think that a year ago I didn't have a clue what career path I should take, and just a couple months after graduating UX Academy I landed my first full-time UX position! - Margot FieldGraduate • 2. UX Academy (Part-time) • OnlineMar 01, 2023Overall ExperienceInstructorsCurriculumJob Assistance
Challenging but Approachable and Supportive
I took DesignLab's Foundations course and their UX Academy. I compared several different boot camps and DesignLab seemed to be the best value. I was attracted by their job guarantee, but it should be noted that there are a lot of caveats to that. You have to finish on time and you're disqualified from the refund if you're offered any kind of work, paid or not. I think that's fair but it's just to say that it's a program you should only do if you're serious and committed to it. It's a lot...I took DesignLab's Foundations course and their UX Academy. I compared several different boot camps and DesignLab seemed to be the best value. I was attracted by their job guarantee, but it should be noted that there are a lot of caveats to that. You have to finish on time and you're disqualified from the refund if you're offered any kind of work, paid or not. I think that's fair but it's just to say that it's a program you should only do if you're serious and committed to it. It's a lot of work and much of the outcome has to do with the mentors you get paired with and how much work you're willing to put into it. If you're not sure, the foundations course is a great place to start. It's true that you could learn a lot of this stuff online for free but the structure of the course, the mentorship, and the community are what make it really valuable. It took me 6 months of searching to find a design job which was longer than I anticipated but I'm thrilled to be on the other side of it. UXA provides a strong foundation, but to land a job and to be successful as a designer, you have to commit to continually growing your skillset and pushing yourself to improve. The abundance of design bootcamps might give the impression that they're handing these jobs out like candy, but the truth is that it's really challenging and competitive to land an early career UX design role. - Christelle PanumpabiUX Designer • Graduate • 2. UX Academy (Part-time) • OnlineFeb 19, 2023Overall ExperienceInstructorsCurriculumJob Assistance
Affordable, Engaging, and Supportive. You get what you put in
I really enjoyed my time at DesignLab. I am thankful for all of my mentors who supported me throughout my learning experience. You only get what you put in, so if you work hard, the hard work will pay off. - Na MaGraduate • 1. UX Academy Foundations • OnlineFeb 17, 2023Overall ExperienceInstructorsCurriculumJob AssistanceN/A
Amazing experience
I recently completed the Foundation course at DesignLab, and I have to say it was an incredible experience. As someone with zero design background, I was looking for a way to gain some foundational knowledge and get a sense of what a career in this field might entail, and DesignLab definitely delivered. The curriculum was well-structured and covered a range of topics, and each module built upon the previous one. The platform was well-designed and easy to use, and the pace of the program ...I recently completed the Foundation course at DesignLab, and I have to say it was an incredible experience. As someone with zero design background, I was looking for a way to gain some foundational knowledge and get a sense of what a career in this field might entail, and DesignLab definitely delivered. The curriculum was well-structured and covered a range of topics, and each module built upon the previous one. The platform was well-designed and easy to use, and the pace of the program was appropriate with flexible schedule. My mentor was really supportive and and helped me improve my skills. She was always available to answer my questions and provided feedback on my project. Overall, I would highly recommend DesignLab to anyone who is interested in UX design. It's a great way to gain foundational knowledge and get a sense of this field. - Henry YearyStudent • 1. UX Academy Foundations • OnlineFeb 15, 2023Overall ExperienceInstructorsCurriculumJob AssistanceN/A
DesignLab UX Foundations = Worth It!
I had a fantastic time learning about UX/UI Design from this foundations course. It is low-stakes, low-cost, AND it gives you a fantastic sneak-peak into what being a professional designer could look like. There is so much more to learn overall, but if you are trying to gauge how much you want to invest in a design bootcamp, this is a great place to start. I loved working with my mentor, who was very knowledgeable and encouraging, as well as practicing my skills through projects...I had a fantastic time learning about UX/UI Design from this foundations course. It is low-stakes, low-cost, AND it gives you a fantastic sneak-peak into what being a professional designer could look like. There is so much more to learn overall, but if you are trying to gauge how much you want to invest in a design bootcamp, this is a great place to start. I loved working with my mentor, who was very knowledgeable and encouraging, as well as practicing my skills through projects. Fantastic short course. I recommend to anyone interested in entering the industry. - Stephen GradyStudent • 1. UX Academy Foundations • OnlineFeb 10, 2023Overall ExperienceInstructorsCurriculumJob AssistanceN/A
UXA Foundations Experience
DesignLab UXA Foundations is perfect for those like me that do not have graphic design, web design, logo experience, etc. That is the beauty of this course. You can confidently say you have completed a project in redesigning a website, mobile apps, creating your own versions and from scratch, evaluating and critiquing design, design for multiple devices, logo design, color, typography. Your final project is using all of those smaller projects and creating your own website landing page an...DesignLab UXA Foundations is perfect for those like me that do not have graphic design, web design, logo experience, etc. That is the beauty of this course. You can confidently say you have completed a project in redesigning a website, mobile apps, creating your own versions and from scratch, evaluating and critiquing design, design for multiple devices, logo design, color, typography. Your final project is using all of those smaller projects and creating your own website landing page and mobile screens.
Along the way, you are paired with a mentor. This is a big reason I chose this bootcamp is that you get paired with an expert with industry-experience who can you walk you through Visual Design basics, Design principles, Design elements, and show you tips and tricks that even the course might not discuss.
My only critique is that some of the tutorial videos and information is outdated. For example, you will learn something on Figma. The tutorial video is showing a version that is older and not really helpful in that scenario.
Designlab Alumni Outcomes
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Designlab Alumni Reviews Summary
Based on 700+ Designlab alumni reviews on Course Report, students consistently praise the hands-on projects, 1-on-1 mentorship from industry professionals, and the comprehensive UX/UI design curriculum. A student shared, "Designlab is a very solid introduction into the world of UX/UI design... Before you know it, you have the confidence to start making your own icons and building a brand." Some critiques, however, mention the reliance on Discord for community interaction, which some found less professional than alternatives like Slack.
Overall Experience
4.8
Instructors
4.7
Curriculum
4.7
Job Assistance
4.3
More Information
Guarantees Job
Job Assistance
Includes Housing
Offers Corporate Training
Accepts GI Bill
Awards
Recent Designlab News
By Jess Feldman
By Rachel Meltzer
By Jess Feldman
FAQs
How much does Designlab cost?
Designlab costs around $7,749. On the lower end, some Designlab courses like 1. UX Academy Foundations cost $499.
What courses does Designlab teach?
Designlab offers courses like 1. UX Academy Foundations, 2. UX Academy (Part-time), 3. UX Academy (Full-time), 4. Data-Driven Design and 5 more.
Where does Designlab have campuses?
Designlab teaches students Online in a remote classroom.
Is Designlab worth it?
Designlab hasn't shared alumni outcomes yet, but one way to determine if a bootcamp is worth it is by reading alumni reviews. 789 Designlab alumni, students, and applicants have reviewed Designlab on Course Report - you should start there!
Is Designlab legit?
We let alumni answer that question. 789 Designlab alumni, students, and applicants have reviewed Designlab and rate their overall experience a 4.78 out of 5.
Does Designlab offer scholarships or accept the GI Bill?
Right now, it doesn't look like Designlab offers scholarships or accepts the GI Bill. We're always adding to the list of schools that do offer Exclusive Course Report Scholarships and a list of the bootcamps that accept the GI Bill.
Can I read Designlab reviews?
You can read 789 reviews of Designlab on Course Report! Designlab alumni, students, and applicants have reviewed Designlab and rate their overall experience a 4.78 out of 5.
Is Designlab accredited?
While bootcamps must be approved to operate, accreditation is relatively rare. Designlab doesn't yet share information about their accreditation status.